Dani Spies

This recipe was 100% inspired by the one and only, Miss Katie O'Cuddles (that's her nickname around here).

When treated with a little TLC, eggplant is a very kid-friendly veggie.

It's soft, creamy, mildly nutty and super easy for a 'three-toothed one year' old to mash on the top of her mouth. 

Mixing it with some whole wheat pasta and tomato sauce was an easy way for me to introduce a new veggie to Katie since she absolutely adores her pasta (or as she says, DASTDA).

Although I often approach pasta with a very strategic (yet delicious) game plan, sometimes I just need to step away from all the rules and just enjoy a simple, seasonal dish.

Growing up, there was always a fifty-fifty shot that "macaroni" (as my parents like to call it) would be on the dinner menu.

We easily had pasta three times a week.

Spaghetti and Meatballs,  Linguini and Clam Sauce, Pasta Fagioli, Cheese Raviolis, Lasagna, and Fusilli and Meat Sauce were just some of our childhood staples.

And as a mother who wants to get a simple meal on the table rather quickly, I get it.  Pasta is a fast, easy, and delicious solution BUT how oh how can we ensure that that we are not sitting down to a nutritionally void meal??

Let's talk pasta (again).

Ever notice how easy it is to OVER eat pasta.  It just goes down SO easy and let's face it a serving of pasta is NOT exactly A LOT of food.

Let me show you what I mean.

Salmon is one of my favorite types of fish AND it's a power food SO I try to get it into my diet at least once a week.  Since I always try to buy wild salmon and it can be very expensive, I often turn to canned salmon for a more economical way to work some salmon into my diet. 

If your not sure what to look for when it comes to buying salmon...

Give me a plate of chicken and broccoli and very rarerly will you see me going back for seconds BUT sit me down in front of a bowl of pasta and LOOK OUT!  Somehow, I ALWAYS have room for a second round of pasta... especially white pasta!

I know I left you guys high and dry this Labor Day weekend but the truth is I didn't do much cooking.  I'm headed to Jersey later this week to spend a week down the shore with my family so I was laying pretty low this weekend.  But I did get to make this Whole Wheat Penne w/ No-Cook Tomato Sauce and White Beans!

Spring time is naturally a very cleansing time of year.  After a long, cold winter of heartier, heavier foods, Spring rolls in with its fresh, light flavors that are designed by nature to help clean us out and lighten us up a bit!

Leafy greens are the number one ingredient missing in the American diet which is why I've decided to focus on Spring Leafy Greens this month!
 

I love when things just work themselves out effortlessly.  You know those times when everything just comes together without any thought or struggle.  Just a little non-linear, unorganized, spontaneous inspiration.  I seriously love that!

It's cold and rainy here in So.Cal, so I was in the need of some comfort food.  I wanted to use up some Kale and so here's what I came up with...  Let me know what ya think!